I had a bit of a hard time writing this one. It's supposed to be a lead into the final arc, and I wasn't fully sure what to do with it for a while. I think it turned out alright, though.
After Hours
Tell Me Something Good
Mike's phone pinged. He couldn't help but smile as he pulled it out to read what he'd received.
Tell me a story. Following it was a bizarre, Japanese-style emoticon that Mike couldn't have replicated if he'd tried. Grace was fond of using them in her texts. They gave Mike a hard time at first, but he'd started puzzling them out little by little as they came to him. This one was familiar, with eyes wrenched shut in horizontal lines, a crying mouth, and a semicolon sweatdrop – pleading.
Mike chuckled as he sent a reply. Bored? He leaned back on the living room couch and awaited an answer.
It came in short order. Yeah! It's Saturday and all my friends are busy! An exasperated emoticon followed. So I want a story.
You sure a joke won't do? I know some really nice puns. Mike replied.
Story or bust! Grace's response came alongside an emoticon of a man flipping a table. It was remarkably expressive.
Mike smirked. Someday I'm going to get you to show me how you make those.
Forget it! That's my secret. You can't have it! He received. A couple of seconds later, a follow-up text came through. I'm waiting on that story.
Alright, gimme a second to think. Mike lowered his phone and fished through his head for something good to tell her.
The two of them had managed to keep a healthy chain of texts going ever since they exchanged numbers a while back, and Mike found himself using his phone more now than he could ever remember. They flooded each other's devices with jokes and facts, stories about themselves, games of hangman, and discussions not unlike the ones they would have held in person.
Thank God for unlimited texting. Mike's parents would have already murdered him otherwise.
Mike usually tried to keep some rhyme and reason to his messages, but Grace apparently had no such scruples. She seemed to send Mike whatever thought popped into her head, whenever she managed to reach her phone; more than once Mike was awoken in the middle of the day by some random thought about TV shows, cats, or whatever else Grace had on her brain. Still, Mike had to admit, it meant he wouldn't be bored.
Alright, here's something for you. Mike began his tale. He couldn't believe he was already letting her into this, but it wasn't like he had to tell her that it really happened. It's morbid and full of tears.
And it's not even my birthday! Grace sent back, sans emoticon. Mike believed with moderate certainty that that meant she was joking.
Long ago, in the world of kids' eateries, Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria reigned supreme. Children flocked to it from whole towns over to meet Freddy Fazbear and his sidekicks, Bonnie Bunny and Chica the Chicken. They loved getting to watch them sing and dance around the pizzeria and battle the evil dread pirate Captain Foxy, who envied their happy lives and their delicious pizza.
Is this based on a true story? Grace interrupted.
Yes. Now shush. Mike continued tapping away at his screen. But one day, something terrible happened… He paused, anticipating a response.
It came in short order. What happened, Mr. Story Man?
One blazing hot summer afternoon, Captain Foxy, tired of being outsmarted and delirious from the heat, went mad and- He stopped, grimacing, and deleted what he'd written without sending it. Grace may not have known the truth, but it felt wrong to use the Bite of '87 for entertainment. In a freak lightning storm, Captain Foxy's vessel, the Red Fox, was forever lost at sea… along with its captain and crew. Although he was their sworn nemesis, Freddy Fazbear and his gang were never the same after that. They stopped coming out to play with the children, instead staying up on their distant stage, forever kept away by an imaginary but insurmountable wall.
Mike stopped texting once more. Grace's response took longer this time. That's deep. Freddy was really torn up over losing Foxy?
So they say. Mike replied. He and the others put on a happy mask for the children, but when night fell and they were left alone, they would yearn for the days when Captain Foxy would swoop in and bring a little excitement to their lives.
Grace's silence went on for even longer than before.
You think Freddy and Foxy were giving each other something on the side?
Mike blinked and nearly dropped his phone. It took him far longer to reply than it should have. What? No other response seemed to do the situation justice.
Freddy and Foxy. You said that the bear became depressed after the fox disappeared, but they were enemies, so there had to be some reason for that. Maybe they were taking all that hostility and getting it out of their systems together.
So to speak. She added with a winking emoticon.
Mike started and deleted several potential responses. Freddy and Foxy? Freddy and Foxy?! Freddy and Foxy…? Ignoring his mental commands to disregard, Mike couldn't help but picture how they would have gotten that to work. Of course, it only took a few seconds to realize that these were his best friends and that he needed to cut it the hell out. Besides, Foxy was basically a big kid – it felt wrong to pair him off with anybody.
Did you just. Mike finally chose to send.
Would you expect anything less? Another winking emoticon.
A brief moment of contemplation later, Mike cleared his throat and resumed typing. Back to the story. After Captain Foxy disappeared, fewer and fewer children started coming to Freddy Fazbear's. Without his manic energy charging up the place, and with Freddy and the others having retreated from the celebrations, people were losing interest. Even so, the band played on as best they could, never knowing what day would be their last.
Mike's fingers stopped flying, their story complete. Taking a deep breath to punctuate the end, the young man awaited his lady friend's review.
It was much less flattering than he'd been hoping. What, that's it? They just keep playing, and that's how it ends? That's boring! A couple of wide-eyed and angry emoticons had been slipped in where appropriate. It's too short, and there's no closure! Mike could almost hear Grace's chiding voice.
Well, what did you expect? It's Freddy Fazbear's. That place doesn't have the best history. Mike texted back. Besides, not every story has a happy ending.
He had more than enough experience with that truth.
Fine, but this is depressing and I'm still bored. Mike's phone showed that she was still texting but she didn't send anything for a while. Apparently she'd become lost in thought.
When Grace finally sent the other part, it turned out to be the last thing Mike had hoped she'd ask. Didn't a murderer get caught there a long time ago? Tell me about that.
Mike's breath sounded strange in his throat – or was that his imagination? I'd rather not. He typed back without thinking. He had to fight the urge to hit himself after he'd sent it. He didn't want to talk about what had happened to him so long ago, not even as a story to an unwitting listener, but now Grace would almost certainly become suspicious.
Indeed, as Mike read her next text – a simple Why not? – he could hear an unspoken demand for some further explanation. One that he didn't know how to satisfy and wasn't sure that he could. He may have laid his demons to rest, but that didn't mean he wanted to speak of them, especially since so little time had gone by since then.
Mike? His phone pinged once again, forcing Mike back into reality. How long had he kept Grace waiting?
I just don't want to talk about it. Please, Grace. He sent back, hoping that Grace would be able to glean his distress and cut him some slack. Mike waited for her reply with bated breath. He could feel his heart beating quickly, anticipating the possible outcomes.
When Mike's phone finally received the text, he almost dropped it in his rush to see Grace's decision.
Alright. Whatever. But I still want a better ending.
Mike read the words a couple of times to make sure that they said what he believed that they said. His entire body relaxed visibly, although Mike didn't notice and there was nobody else in the room to see it happen. I can do a better ending. He sent back. Mike already had all of the stories that he needed.
One fateful night, a young man, no longer a child but not yet an adult, found his way into the pizzeria at night, long after everybody else had already left. The man didn't know that the animatronics liked to roam come nighttime, and when he first met them they terrified him. He tried to run and hide, even though the animatronics meant him no harm. Secretly, they yearned for somebody new to play with, somebody they'd yet to meet during the day when they and the humans were divided.
For a time, the man hid. However, as he watched the robots from the shadows, they became less and less frightening to him. He began to see that they weren't the monsters he'd made them out to be, but fun-loving creatures not so different from the people of the day, despite their beastly appearances. Eventually, the man grew tired of hiding away, and when the animatronics came by his hiding place he swallowed his fear and stepped out to greet them.
The animatronics were surprised – very much so – but they were also happy. After many years of solitude, they had a playmate to share their joy with. The man was surprised as well to be greeted so warmly, but he too was happy to meet these strange but lovable creatures.
They had great fun that night, and when the sun had almost risen and the animatronics were cast back to their side of the schism, the young man promised to return when he could. For he had seen that these monsters were not truly monsters at all, but people in suits of metal and fabric, and he had truly enjoyed the moments that he had spent with them.
And he did return, the following night and every night thereafter. He and the robots continued to have adventures, and although obstacles would rise up before them, their friendship never failed to win the night. In fact, even now the young man returns night after night, to see the friends he had once regarded as fiends. They've changed his life in many ways, and he has touched theirs as well, and as long as he lives he'll never forget the fun that they've had together.
Mike didn't even notice that the screen was wet until he'd finished his tale. He laughed, wiped his eyes, and waited once more for the reply.
Wow. Did you make that up? You could totally publish that! There were two emoticons – a wide-eyed one at the beginning of the text and a fist-pumping one at the end.
Mike pondered that for a moment before replying. I've never thought of that. Maybe it wouldn't be such a bad idea. It made sense the more Mike thought about it. He was reasonably certain he could write a story, he was easily young enough to do so, and perhaps it would keep the spark of Freddy Fazbear's – the wonder buried under years of scandals and misery – alive after it closed.
This guy in the story – is it you? Grace said.
Yeah.
Wow. Sounds like you get into a lot of fun when you're at work. I'm jealous. While Mike was formulating a response, Grace sent another sudden text. Can I tag along sometime?
Great, another whammy. This girl just wasn't letting up today. Why? Mike asked. I thought you hated the animatronics.
I do. But maybe it's time I got over that. Besides, you and I haven't hung out in a while and I've always wanted to make inappropriate gestures at the cameras when I can't get caught while doing it. What do you say?
Mike considered her proposal and found fewer reasons to reject it than he thought he would. He trusted Grace enough to believe that she'd keep the secret, and she might even get along with the animatronics once she got to know them. The only problem would be if she freaked out, but Mike was sure she'd still keep it to herself even then. Besides, it would be nice to have another person to talk to about his nightly escapades; Mike and his dad talked a lot, but there was always room for another.
Are you sure you won't freak out when you see them? Mike asked. I don't want to introduce you to the animatronics if they're gonna freak you out.
I'm not a kid – I can keep my cool when I want to. Grace texted back with an annoyed emoticon.
Okay, then. When do you want to go? I'm working tonight, but if that's too short-notice…
Tonight's fine. I'm not going anywhere today, so I can catch a nap and be ready when you need me.
Cool. I'll pick you up around 11:30. Mike replied. They'd already traded addresses a while back.
I'll be waiting. Winking emoticon.
Mike laughed and stood up, tucking his phone away. This would either go really well or really not, but either way it'd be interesting.
And on that note, I bid you goodbye for now.
Tomorrow's Hero, signing out.